The Sun. — London, England, 1838-01-18 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF COMMONS, JAY. 17. The SERAKIER took the Chair at the usual hour. Lord DUNCIARVON, Major AGLIONAY, and Mr. BODKIN took the oaths and their seats. Mr. BODKIN was sworn separately, and took the oaths prescribed for Roman Catholic Members. Mr. CRATER presented Papers from BILLS. the Treasury. PRIVATE Mr. SHAW LE FE VR E wished to call the attention of the House to a subject connected with the petitions on pri vate Bills. There were two notices in the Votes of to-day, stating that the Committee would sit upon those private Bills. Now, it must be in the recollection of the House, that the Committee had adjourned to the sth of February, on the sup osition that the House would not sit till early in that month. Such being the case, the Committee could not, in justice to the agents and parties concerned, sit upon an early day. He begged, therefore, to inform the House that no alteration !would be made with respect to the meeting of the Committee. :t would sit on the sth of February, and continue doing so from day to day till the business before it had been disposed of. Mr. PARROT thought that it would be extremely unfair :or the Committee to sit earlier than the time appointed. The subject then dropped. PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BILLS. Mr. P. THOMSON gave notice that on Monday next he should move resolutions with respect to public and private Bills, according to the recommendation of the Committee of last year. CANADA. Mr. GIL LON presented a petition from the inhabitants of Whitburu, deprecating the present state of Canada, and ex pressing the opinion of the petitioners that a war with our co lonies is alike opposed to religion and policy. The peti tioners prayed that the House would not sanction the con duct of the Government in prosecuting that war. Mr. WAKLEY presented a petition from the inhabitants of Finsbury upon the same subject. The petitioners prayed that the House would not sanction the war with Canada, but would agree to a peaceful separation of that State from Great Britain.—( Hear, and laughter.) THE GLASGOW COTTON SPINNERS. Mr. WAKLEY then gave notice that on Monday he would present a petition from the Working Men's Association of London, praying for a mitigation of the sentence recently passel upon certain cotton-spinners of Glasgow. CANADA. Mr. LEADER presented petitions from Lambeth, St. Margaret's, and St. John's, Westminster, praying that the ]louse would not sanction the war against the people of Canada. The LION. MEMBER also presented a petition, signed by the Chairman of a meeting held on the Parade-ground, on behalf of 10,000 persons who attanded that meeting, praying that the House, instead of sanctioning the war with Canada, would re dress the grievances of that Colony, and call her Majesty's Ministers to account for their conduct.—( Hear, and a laugh.) The 110 N. MEMBER also presented a petition from inhabi tants of Westminster assembled at the Crown and Anchor Tavern ; which petition (he said), like the former, asserted that the Canadians had many grievances to complain of, and that they were driven to revolt by the conduct of the Go vernment. Petitioners prayed the House not to support Mi nisters in coercive measures, bat on the contrary to do every thing in its power to conciliate the Canadian people. The Honourable Member was present at the meeting, and he never saw one more respectable, more orderly, or more numerous in the Great Room of the Crown and An , hor, which was on that occasion completely filled. lie found that little attention was now paid to public meetings. The organs of the Whigs denounced those meet ings, and asserted that they did not express public opinion. But there was a time when the Whie.s.--( Loud cries of " Order, order, order," in the midst of which toe Hon. Mem her laid the petition on the table ) Mr. B. HALL presented a petition from Marylebone,pray ing that House to refuse any supplies to the Ministers for the prosecution of the war with Canada. BALLOT. Mr. LAMBTON presented a petition from some place in North Durham, in favour of the Ballot. HIGHWAY RATES' BILL. An Hoe. MEMBER presented a peti ion from the Trustees of the Leeds and Barnsley Turnpike Road against (as we un dentood) the Highway Ratcs' Bill. DUDLEY ELECTION PETITION. Mr. AGLIONBY said that in pursuance of the notice which , he had given last night, he had attentively looked into the Act of Parliament. and the circumstances of the case of •he Dudley Ejection Petition ; and after carefully considering the facts and the law, he was reluctantly compelled to aloe to the conclusion, that no matter how great the Lardships of the case, the Act was so peremptory that the time havirg been once enlarged could not be en larged again, and he was of opinion the petitioner had now no remedy but a special Act of Parliament. lie would therefore ; ; lye the House no further trouble, and, with their permission, could withdraw the notice which be had given. ROYAL MESSAGE. Lcrd JOHN RUSSELL, upon being called on by the Speaker, stated, that her Majesty had been waited upon by such Members of that House as were Privy Councillors', with the Address, to which she had been pleased to return the fol- Lwing most gracious answer : " I thank you for the assurance that my faithful Commons 'Aid support my efforts for the suppression of revolt, and the avitoration of tranquillity in Lower Canada. -" The unfortunate events which have taken place in that Pro %ince have given me deep concern ; and I shall look forward with anxiety to the period when the re-establishment of order may enable me to lay the foundations of lasting peace and concord. " The spirit which has been manifested by the loyal inhabi tants of my Northern American Provinces, and the exertions which they have made in support of my authority, demand my warmest acknowledgments."—( Cheers.) Mr. BL A IR:wished to call the attention of her Majesty's Go vernment to a subject incidental to that which this evening chiefly occupied the attention of the House. It was a hardship :suffered by the inhabitants both of Upper and Lower Canada— ine meant the claims of the Scottish Presbyterians. —( Order, oeder.) He would briefly explain the situation of those classes. The SPEAKER interrupted the Hon. Member, and said, t.Taat if he had no motion to make, he could not go into the .('etails of the subject. But if he had any question to put, he put it to any Member of her Majesty's Government, and Afterwards make it the subject of a motion, in bringing forward nitlich, he would have the opportunity of making his explana- S ions. Mr. BLAIR then put a question to the Right Hon. the Under Secretary fer the Colonies, which was not heard in the gallery. Sir G. GREY said that a correspondence on the subject :had been carried on between the Colonial Government and the General Assembly in Scotland, and the Governraent had lone every thing in its power to remove the inconvenience. If «he Hon. Member wished it, the correspondence should be Laid on the table. Mr. BL AIR thought the present a favourable opportunity fer ebe settlement of the question. • POOR RELIEF (IRELAND) BILL. Mr, LUCAS asked if it were the intention of her Majes ty's Ministers to bring on the Irish Poor Law Bill on the 6th February, as it was now fixed? Lord MORPETH replied in the affirmative. CANADA. Lord JOHN RUSSELL said—l rise, Sir, to ask for leave to bring in a Bill, for which I gave notice last night, So provide for the temporary Government of Canada. As I have explained the general purport of the Bill and the policy to be pursued under it, it is not ne cessary for me now to explain at any length the policy proposed to be pursued, or the principles contained in :the Bill. I will state shortly what is the immediate ob ject of this Bill, and what is the nature of the in structions given to the Governor-General that has just been appointed. The nature of the Bill is to enable the Go vernor-General and Council—that Council not to be li mited in point of number—but of which five shall be a sufficient number to constitute a Council, on the :motion of the Governor. General to pass any laws during the suspension of the present Legislature in that province. It Two , be necessary certainly to pass laws and to make provision for temporary purposes, and for the maintenance of the civil .authorty in that province. It may be necessary to pass tem porary laws for other purposes. It is the intention of her Majesty's Government to confide these powers in the first instance to Sir J. Colborne, who is at present administering the Government in the Province of Lower Canada ; and in case it should be neces sary for him to resort to any extraordinary powers of Legislation, in order to re-establish the authority of the Crown in that province, it will be competent for him to do so by the authority that is to be given by this Bill. With respect, therefore, to t he measures that are necessary in order to re-establish tranquillity, besides those powers which are powers that confer the means of immediately subduing the insurrec tion, and putting an end to the present:state of rebellion and .disorder, there will be instructions given to the Go vernor-General duly appointed to exercise the power, if he shall so think fit, and if the cirsum stateces of the province raay seem to require it —the power of granting a general amnesty in that Province, Lotid cries of " Hear, hear, ") With respect to the future government of the Province, it is the intention of the Govern extent, as I stated last night, that that object shall be effected by the prerogative of the Crown, to summon a certain ;num ber of persons, namely, three from each Legislative Council of Lower and Upper Canada, amounting to six in the whole, and ten reprcaeetting, the province of Lower Canada, and ten representing the province of Upper Canada, making twenty in the whoiee- to form a body for the purpose of consulting the Governoe-General on all the matters affecting the whole interests of those ;,ono provinces, and the adjustment of thee(' affairs upon which tee much difference, and, at length, so much disturbance, has arisen this, I say, is a power which may be given by the prerogative of the Crown. With respect to persons to be named by the Legislative Council, those persons will be named from the Legis lative Council, but chosen and appointed by the G 3ver nor-General. With respect to the persons who are con sidered to have a representative character, those persons may he chosen from the Legislative Assembly ; end, as in the ease of Lower Canada, it is almost impossible that the Legislative seeenbly can any way be brought to act beneficially in pursuance of this plan, it will be :n the power of the Governer-General have elections both with respect to the Lower Province, and, if necessary, with respect to thelUpper Province ; to have ehe election of persons, amounting to ten in the whole, for each Prniince, in order to consuit, upon the general affairs of the Province. Sir, I stated last night what the object of this plan was. The object is, that in any future plan for the Government of the Province we may not adopt them either wholly on the authority of the Imperial Parliament or of the Government of this country, or adopt them wholly on the au thority of the Governor-General, but adopt them en the authe- thority of the Imperial Parliament of this country and the Government of this country,with the sanction of those who re present the interests of America, and being conversant with all the affairs transacted there, know perfectly well what are the remedies which, in their opinion, will produce that which her Majesty has declared to be her object—the lasting peace and concord ofthat province.—( Cheers.) The Noble Lord then moved for leave to bring in the Bill. Mr. WARD said he was very anxious to make a few ob servations at that early part of the business, because though having attended the House last night, at some personal inconvenience and suffering, he had failed in ob taining an opportunity of stating his sentiments upon that important subject—nor had he been able to wait in order to record his opinions by his vote—he was the more anxious to state his sentiments now, because he was one of the very small minority who had almost uniformly op posed the resolutions of last session. He had opposed those resolutions because, in his opinion, they were most unjust and impolitic ; but infinitely more so because, in his opinion, it was impossible that they could lead to any practicable result. He had been of opinion, and was so still, that those resolutions went either too far, or not far enough— they were sure to create all the odium of interference, without any of its good. It had seemed to him that they would be doing exactly as it had turned out—that they would irritate the Ca nadians, without in the slightest allaying the dissensions which prevailed in that Province. The result had proved that those impressions were correct. They had irritated the Canadians, and had produced no calm. The settlement of the grievances seemed to be as far off as before these resolutions were passed. Their effect had been to leave Canada without any government but that of martial law.—( Hear, hear.) He ' acknowledged that this country was not alone responsible for these results. He deplored the fatal error which had been committed by the leaders of the popular party in America --they had sacrificed the great advantages which would have resulted from the popular opinion of this country being in their favour ; for it would be so, sooner or later. The popu lar opinion of this country was sure to be in favour of the weaker party fighting for their civil rights against the strong. —( Hear.) The question now was, whether they were to give in to the whole demands made by M. Papineau, or whether they were to sift those demands—redress the just, and conciliate as to the others—or whether they were to insist that the rebel lion which now existed there must be put an end to before any redress can be given. In his opinion, the Goverment had pursued, on this occasion, the very best policy which it was possible, for the purpose of obtaining all the results which every one had in view. He came into the House yesterday with an entire ignorance of the in tentions of Government ; and had any plan been brought forward, not resting on large principles, he should have given the Noble Lord his most uncompromising opposition. Had the plan of Government merely contemplated the suspen sion of the Constitution—had the Noble Lord talked simply of coercion, and not of remedial measures—he should have contended for their rights as strongly as he did now for the prudence of adopting, in all its parts, the plan submitted by Government to the House. Ile believed that plan to be founded on just and enlarged principles. He believed it calcu lated to give justice to the Canadians, with a due regard to the rights and honour of the Crown. He knew that objections were taken that it imposed o n us th e necess i ty o f suspen di ng the Con stitution of 1791. Why, that Constitution was already de facto suspended..—( Hear, hear.) It had been not merely sus pended—it had been repudiated by the Canadians themselves. —c Hear, hear.) It was evident to him, upon the perusal of the whole of Lord Gosferd's correspondence, that from the moment the resolutions of the Government arrived on the shores of Canada—that from that moment there was a rash and wanton determination on the part of the Canadian leaders to appeal to the sword, as the arbitrator of the disputes between that colony and this country. From that moment the only use made of the Consti tution of 1791 was to prepare the way for the utter destruction of the British poacr in the province of Lower Canada. In all the meetings held under the protection of the Canadian Constitution, principles were avowed totally irreconcilable with any of the pi inciples of the British Government.—( Heer.) He found at thes e mee ti n gs the strongest expression of opinion in favour of an immediate declaration of independence. He would not trouble the House by quoting particular passages,but it would be recollected that in the Address of the Sons of Liberty, it was laid down that the power of the mother country ought not to sub silt in a colony frcm the moment the colonists thought it expedient to get rid of it. Flu found in the meeting of the &x Counties what aas equivalent to a declaration of in dependence, and he saw a regular military organization throughout the country—lie saw drills by foreign officers sanc tioned—he saw resolutions for the rejection of the British au thorities passed—he saw the substitution of a new judicial sys tem throughout the country organized—and he saw the parties who disapproved of the course of Papineau, compelled by the de struction of their property, and threats on their lives to acquiesce in the system. To allow men to avow these principles—to allow them to plead against us, on the one hand, the Consti tution—would he as absurd as it would be rash in us to allow them the benefit of such a plea. He saw, then, the Consti tution of Canada suspended by the Canadians themselves, and the question remaining for us to decide was, what measure presented the best prospect of a permanent settlement of the differences with that colony hereafter. He could conceive no measure better calculated to do that than a measure which, while it placed a statesman of eminent and admitted ability at the head of the affairs of Canada— while it compelled him to stake his reputation on the success of the experiment entrusted to him—while it armed him with great power—laid down just, wise, and salutary principles that that power should not be exercised without an attempt, at all events, to secure the concurrence of the representation of a large portion of the population to whom these powers were to apply, he held that the example a hich England had set on the pre sent occasion—for he believed he had rightly understood the plan of the Noble Lord—he believed that the example which had been set by Great Britain, in giving her influence to the principle of a Convention for the settlement of there griev ances, which had so long disturbed and distracted the Province of Canada, was one of the greatest triumphs of reason in modern times.---( Hear, hear.) Hitherto, when a dispute had arisen between a colony and a mother country, what had been the result? An appeal to mere brute force. There had been no attempt to reason with the colony, or to bring about an amicable adjustment of the differences. In the present instance they had a colony invited to come to an amicable understanding with them, and whatever the result might be, the people of Canada might rest assured that there was a disposition to acquiesce in all their reasonable wishes on the part of a majority of that House as well as else where. The only example he (Mr. Ward) knew of a similar Convention, and which was also attended with the happiest results, although it was not a convention between the mother country and her colony, but where a new State had been recently formed—he meant the United States of Ame rica—the first Constitution that had been formed in the United States, after their declarations of independence had worked so as to give dissatisfaction. Instead of dividing into a number of separate communities, they agreed to suspend their Constitution, and to assemble delegates for the di . scussion of their common grievances, and the result of fifty years had shown that that Convention had been attended with the most happy results, for they are a great and growiag people under the auspices of that Convention of 1787. But as between a colony and the mother-country the present was the first instance in which the plan had been tried. He gave full honour and credit to those who had ventured to grapple with the unhappy case of Canada, and who had proposed so comprehensive a measure as the present for the sanction of Parliament. He was not going to enter upon the principles upon which the future Constitution of Canada should be settled; but he could not help pointing out to the House the vast complication of that question—the infinite variety of interests at stake—the feelings to be conceded—the extreme difficulty of inducing the French Canadians, whose sole desire was to remain a separate commu nity amoag the subjects of that country—the extreme difficulty of inducing them to acquiesce in a plan to secure to all British subjects an identity of interests, and a community of rights as to perpetuating the French Canadian people—a people composed of:500,000 souls, who were trying to maintain a separate existence—he believed that must be regarded as perfectly impossible.—(Cheers.) He believed that the best service they could render to the Canadian people would be to give them a participation in British rights and laws. Their system of representation should be changed, for the re presentation as it at present existed, was monopolized by one party to the injury of another. The present was a question where origin and race greatly prevailed. —( Cheers. ) The two parties in the Colonies had increased the animosity of the struggle that had taken place. The two parties had different objects in view, and they pursued their endea vours to accomplish those objects with a vehemence that was unexampled. One party was identified with the Legis lative Council, and the other monopolised the whole of the elections of the House of Assembly. It was his firm belief that the result of such a convention as was laid down in the present Bill would be to unite the two parties, and produce the greatest benefits that could be conferred on the country. As to abandoning Ca nada, and leaving them to settle their own differences, huma nity and common sense forbid it.--( Cheers.) It would lead to the destruction of human life to a most fearful extent—it would lead to a contest of race and prejudice—a contest in which the bitterest passions would be exercised without any controlling power—that controlling power, he was happy to say, existed in this country. He believed that if the pro position of her Majesty's Ministers were carried into effect, there would be some prospect of bringing the parties to an amicable arrangement of their disputes, which they would not have had if they had been left to themselves, He (Mr. Ward) considered that these Legislative Councils, whether composed better than they had been, or as they were at present, were utterly incompatible with any per manent good understanding between the Mother Country and the Colonies. They possessed all the most invidious privileges of an aristocracy, without any of the benefits which accompanied an aristocracy elsewhere.—( Hear, hear.) They were, in fact, a spurious aristocracy—a psel.do House of Lords—creating bickeriugs and quarrels, not only in the Ca nadas, but in all our North American Provinces.— ( Hear, hear, hear.) He hoped the House would depart from the false and erroneous system of legislation with regard to cur Colonies which had hitherto been pursued ; and that they would be prepared to agree to the abolition of the Legislative Councils.—( Hear, hear.) He was convinced, that however harsh the suspen sion of the Constitution might at first appear, he thought the measures which had been recommended by the Government, would have the effect of promoting a good understanding with the colony in question. He repeated his firm, entire, and unequivocal adhesion to the Government plan in all its parts. That it would be administered in that conciliatory spirit in which it had been introduced, and in which a general amnesty had been sanctioned, he felt no doubt, from the character of the Nobleman to whom its execution had been entrusted.—(Hear, hear.) He should anxiously watch the operation of this plan, believing it to be founded upon principles which would at once secure justice to the colony, and maintain the honour and interests of, the Crown. —( Hear, hear.) The House had no choice but to secede to such great and comprehensive principles, if they wished to put an end to these disputes in Canada. There were certain points, as it was well known, upon which he differed with the Govern ment ; but he begged to offer them his most grateful thanks for the wise and amicable plan which they had re commended, and which he believed would be produc tive of the most beneficial results.—( Hear, hear, hear. ) If the French Canadians should succeed in putting down the claims of this country on the land in any way, their success would lead to the entire confiscation of British property. They considered the property acquired under the Charter of the British Government as usurped and illegal. For instance, the land held by the British American Land Company—and they looked to the annulling of that Company's Charter as one of the objects of the insurrection—if: they suc ceeded, the confiscation of all other British property would follow. If, on the other hand, the British party should sues ceed, violence and injustice would follow, from which his mind equally revolted. Without being too sanguine as to the re sult of the present attempt of her Majesty's Govern ment, ho believed that it would be successful, if they reverted to the old and sound principles of British colonization—if they did not subject the colony to the officials in Downing-street—if they contented themselves with exer cising their imperial power without interfering too much with their internal legislation, and gave them the fullest control over their own revenue, stipulating only for a temporary Civil List, but leaving to the representatives of the people ( how ever they may be constituted), the control of the Civil List. He believed that if they did so, they would restore tranquillity, and permanently unite the Colony to this country.—( Hear.) That was the old system of English colonisation, pursued with uniform success in the Colonies of North America (now the United States) for upwards of a century and a half. That system produced more unity, harmony, and strength, than any system of colonization that had ever before been heard of.— ( Hear.) Almost every Colony which England now possessed in North America had originally been conquered by the States of New England, in which the British Government never in terfered with the Legislative Assembly, by subjecting it to a Legislative Council appointed by the Crown. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick had both been conquered by New England, which provided the troops, and paid the expenses of the conquest, out of the revenues of the State itself.—( Hear, hear.) He had heard with much pleasure a part of the speech which the Noble Lord the Se cretary for the Home Department delivered last night ; but he regretted to hear the Noble Lord defend the Legislative Coun cil, which had been engrafted upon the Constitution of 1791. Mr. WA RBURT 0 N said, that the last time he had the honour to address the House on this painful subject, an Hon. Baronet, a friend of his on the opposite side, had made as a matter of reproach to him what he rather considered a compli ment, that he ( Mr. W.) had endeavoured to discuss this ques tion with the same degree of temper and moderation as if he was canvassing the merits of a private Bill. If anything, he would en. treat of his friends around him to attend to the advice given by the Minister of the Crown in the commeecement ofthose great de bates which arose on the disputes which took place between Great Britain and her Colonial possessions, which now con stitute the United States of America, naively, " sine ulle animorum sine dissensione."—( Hoar, hear.) He was of opinion that in order to obtain the greatest measure of justice for the Canadians, those who were their supporters in that House ought to discuss the question before them with the greatest possible degree of temper and moderation._( Hear, hear.) What he (Mr. W.) wished to do in the present in stance was to look to the actual state of the Canadas at pre sent, and not retro , pectively.—( Hear, hear.) He did not Clink it necessary to go minutely into all the questions which had arisen between the Government on the one hand, aril the House of Assembly on the other, or to measure exactly the degree of praise or censure which had been in curred by either.—( Hear, hear.) He did not consider that any degree of advantage would be obtained by exactly balancing the merits of the respective parties ; because, neither the gen tlemen who approved of the course now to be taken with respect to the Canadas, or the Secretaries who had been in corre spondence on the subject, disputed that there were great grievances to be redressed in that Colony. For these reasons, looking to the situation in which the Canadians were placed, allowing for the state of irritation into which they had been thrown by the delay of that redress to which they were en titled, assenting to all those measures of amnesty to which an allusion had been made by the Noble Lord, he would say again, let them consider what was best to be done in the present existing circumstances of Lower Canada. There were two parties in Lower Canada—in that very colony now in open rebellion—there were the insurgent!, and there were those who took no Fart in the insurrection. With re gard to the insurgents themselves, he believed he might almost take for granted that the insurrection had been put down. If the insurrection had been put down, he was glad it had been put down at he earliest possible period, because if success were to attend the Government, the sooner that bloodshed and exasperation were put au end to the better. The less the evils that attended an insurrection, the sooner they would be put an end to. He did not wish to observe particularly on any course taken by the Government—yet while he was on the case of the insurgents, and of the course taken by the Government in putting that insurrection down, without intending to say anything that was irritative, he was sorry to observe, that unmerited praise was given to the conduct of the officers who were engaged in putting that insurrection down. He was willing to give every praise to them for their gallantry; yet there were some circumstances attending the putting down of the insurrection which certainly did not deserve unqualified praise.—( Hear. ) If houses or barns had been burnt during the time the attack was made—if those disasters had happened at the actual moment of attack—be, for one, would have had nothing to com plain of on the subject. Yet he could not help noticing in the dispatches he had seen, that a rule had been laid down for destroying all houses from which any firing had taken place.—(" Hear, hear," from an Hon. Member on the Conservative benches.) And he also noticed that those houses had been destroyed, not at the mo ment of attack, but at a subsequent period when the troops had re-visited the houses from which attacks had been made. He knew not to what extent that retaliation had taken place, The irritation and heart-burnings which lasted for a consider able period after the cessation of the American war, were at tributed, and he believed rightly, to the burning of the houses of those persons who were supposed to be active in the war. Without, therefore, wishing to pour oil on the flames, or blaming any party—but wishing to bind the Government to those assurances given last night, that they were anxious to extend mercy to all—wishing that it should be extended as far as possible, he reminded them, then, in the despatches of the Government acknowledging the ser vices of the officers engaged—the most unqualified praise had been given for all that they had done. Such acts ought net to be praised, even though they might be committed under mistaken motives, and a sincere wish to do that only which was only for the benefit of the public service. These acts certainly should have bees excepted, and he ( Mr- W. ) would have been more glad had he seen them noticed in the Government dispatches. He could not for a moment say that, in his opinion, the Canadians were at all justified in having recourse to arms.—( Hear, hear.) At the same time that he said so, he called upon the House to look at the great grievances—the acknowledged grievances under which they had suffered, and then let the Government make the amnesty as wide and as extensive as possible.—( Loud cheers.) There had been many charges brought against the popular party in that country—they, in return, had great and many grievances to complain of. Amongst others was that which was prominently put forward by them respecting the Land gin ruesattColony,benefits anyebfiytstCompany. whicharat s if H te re: thatwnf ogars Company o th n qe e ui irt w e asc capital tduarlaclo in disposedinto or arte idt to deny great u p yo e fnee tye feeling ge e of jealousy should arise in the breasts of Canadians, at seeing a great Corporation armed with such powers, especially for the purchase of land.—( Cries of " Hear.") Now let them look at the way in which the mother country acted with regard to Corporations possessing extensive property in land. Was there the smallest Corporation in which the pjtlweaooaanwrsdoehiu jealousy kco w yheu a lwgy s iha st n t ot o wf t teab l i . l ete m yos pieftoaetsugdossii giving egb possessing land to the utmost extent le tysougrprearanirrsteiyndgpru Corporations d alta c tt h e dh n es c t o e ?sor so enormous ete N anr : o h rofm e n r h o e owul sshd an ngh h sit extent on th i o n a d t b h et i c a s kmc oly andoen placei— a n to u hn g e h they Hi i t los House sseueyb for oe rc wonder t:he Supposing at the disposal of a which r o p op ll the landedtwshuiecthyh approve po p pw r rc o or p v eetorot Corporationpfy ut o rr f ac t nh h aas e sfs ee trChr and i r an o t zw? great hold,r ‘e would o toa u ul d dl t masses h t t h eh eecyyorfneo note Crown ot t law a aknne C dpcs ? orporation property , e V e irft o y u t h l t Would Crown property were to be sold, that it should be disposed of in such a manner that Corporations should not be allowed to purchase beyond the extent of their existing charters, and that the property should be divided amongst the great mass of purchasers? He did not mean to say that the situation of the mother country and the colony was the same; but he stated this as some excuse to the party in the colony whose conduct they were now contemplating ; he stated the jealousy which was felt in the mother country as to Corporations being allowed to hold lands, as some excuse for the jealousy shown to this Land Company holding landed property to an enormous extent. This landed Company not only held this pro perty, of which a sale was made to it in the first in stance, but having disposed of certain lands, and other new lands having been brought to the hammer since the charter was granted, that very Company had been in the market as purchasers of new lands. It seemed there was no chock to the domain over which the Company entended its influence—no chance of its being limited within a n y limited period of time ; but it went on purchasing lands, and, therefore, looking at the extensive powers granted and exercised by this landed Company, he could not wonder at the jealousy entertained by the popular party in Canada, as to the very condition on which the landed Company had been formed. But there was not only the insurgent party to be considered, but the party of gentlemen who, at the period of 1828, were among the foremost to petition that House for the removal of grievances; but who had not taken part with Papineau, and the other more ardent Reformers there.—( Cries of " Hear, hear.") He would say that there was a large and liberal party who had remained attached to the Crown, and had taken no part in the insurrection ; and he must say that whatever measures the Government thought proper to take, the honor and the feelings of that party above all things ought to be eonciliated.—(Hoar. If there was anything in the course about to be taken by the Government upon which he was especially doubtful, it was that —it was whether the course they were taking in proposing to sus pend the Constitution of 17g1 would not seriously dissatisfy that party. They were petitioners in 1825, and they continued until a late period attached to those very individuals who had thought proper, at a later period, to take a more violent course. They were bound to the cause of the more violent petitioners, and he thought it would dissatisfy that party if they now sus pended altogether the Constitution of 1791. He put it to the good sense of the House, whether they were not likely to estrange from them that moderate but liberal party, of whom great numbers existed in Canada. He thought that in treating with the inhabitants of the province of Lower Canada, they ought not to put them precisely in the position in which the inhabitants of a mere colony ought to stand. They should recollect that their title to Lower Canada was founded on a capitulation which had taken place in the year 1763. By the capitulation of 1763, this country granted to the in habitants of Lower Canada all the privileges and immunities which any individual or corporation then in the Colony was entitled to. He did not mean to include among them any of those privileges and immunities which they derived from the Acts of the Legislature at a later period. From the observations of the Noble Lord, he found that allusion had been made with reference to the state of the inhabitants of Lower Canada, as growing out of their race or religion.—( Hear, hear.) He did not mean to say, that it was the intention of her Majesty's Government to invade any of the privileges that had been secured to the French Canadians by the capi tulation of 1763 ; he only mentioned it for the purpose of forcing the Government to take care that faith was kept with the French Canadians. No privileges which they enjoyed ought to be invaded by any new Constitution.—( Cries of " Hear, hear, hear.") He could not but think that injustice had been done to the popular party in Canada, in dwelling upon the important stress they laid upon keeping - up their feudal rights. If he had any knowledge of what had taken place in Canada during the last 13 or 14 years, the French Canadians had been most anxious to commute the seig norial right, if that could be done upon terms advantageous to the holders. The French Canadians had been among the ♦ery first to propose the introduction of a Bill for the commu tation of those rights, if any encouragement should be given to such a measure by the Legislative Council. Loud cries of Hear, hear.) He thought that in discussing the conduct of the Liberal party in Canada, they ought not to do them the injustice of saying that they were opposed to the commutation of those rights. He thought, above all, in any measure to be introduced with respect to Canada, the feelings of the Liberal party who had remained true to the British Crown should be considered. The course which he (Mr. Warburton) would advise his friends to take on the present occasion, in consequence of ,the declarations of the Government in favour of an am- nesty, and in order that they might observe not only calmness and moderation—but the utmost appearance of calmness and temper in the manner in which they received the proposi tion of the Government—was not to divide on the question in this stage of the Bill, but to allow it to be produced and read, so that they might have the opportunity of considering its provisions before they divided against it. He thought that in that course they would best observe the moderation which became them in the discussion of so important a subject, and which especially became them as the friends of Canada in the present conjuncture.—( Hear, hear.) He had risen for the purpose, not of stating all his views on the subject, but of setting himself right against the misrepresentations which had been made respecting what fell from him in the discussion of the state of Canada shortly before the late holidays. The advice which he then gave, and the advice which he wail now prepared to give her Majesty's Government on the subject of their Cclonial affairs in North America was—Suppose the insurrection were so violent and sc.. sly spread that it could not be completely put down wit ut an exterminat ing war—and he was glad to hear : it it was not so— if it were so, he (Mr. W.) should adv' that the colonies be emancipated. He would not now enter i o a full discussion of his reasons for this advice, but would L irepared to do so on Monday next. Admitting—what he was is tppy to think was the case—that the revolt was not very aide!. spread, and that her Majesty's troops, aided by the well die used in the Colony, would be able shortly to put it down—(l leas, hear)—and thus give Parliament breathing time to con rider what measures should be adopted with regard to that Colony—the advice which he would still offer to them was, •‘ Emancipate the Colonies." He did not give this advice on the ground— as had been represented by the Right Hon. Member for Tam worth—that a Colony had rebelled—but upon the ground that he believed such a course would be alike beneficial to the Mother Country and to the Colonies.—( Hear, hear.) It was nst as a money question that this subject ought to be discussed, but it ought to be taken up on the greatest and widest national views. One of the evils of the course that had hitherto been taken with respect to Canada, according to his view of the subject, was that such a spirit of disaffection existed towards the mother country that the North American Colonies would be driven into the arms of the United States, or that they would be driven to insurrection—so that they would become parts and pro vincos of the United States—( Hear, hear,)—or such a feeling of interest would be excited on the part of the colonists that a party in the United States would be pre pared to support them in their insurrection—such a feeling of disaffection would be raised that they would be united more strongly to the United States than any course of action that could be taken by the Colonists themselves would give rise to. He must say, that in the observations which had fallen from Members on both sides of the House, it appeared to him to be admitted ; that when a Colony had arrived at a certain state of strength and manhood, it was inevitable that the Colony should become emancipated. The Noble Lord had acknowledged that truism, and had said that the only question was one of time--( Hear.) Let him look at the history of the United States—the warm feelings which existed it, that then Colony, previous to the war of 1762—1 et him look at the support which they gave to the mother coun try against the French Canadians in that year—let him look at the shortness of the period which elapsed between those warm feelings and the time of their emancipation—and then let him not consider that the emancipation of these colonies is a matter which must be far off—let him not defer the consideration of that emancipation until the demand for it has become irresistible—let him ra ther, a ith the far-sightedness of a Statesman, prepare for that emancipation. Let him take such measures, that when it does take place, it shall be brought about, not only with the least quantity of evil, but with the greatest good for both countries. However disposed he was to admire both the form of Govern ment, and the wiidom of the Government of the United States of America, yet he must say that if there was one thing which every state in the world ought to apprehend more than another, it was this, that a country, whether its form of Government was aristocratic or democratic, should become so powerful as to cause apprehension to every other country. That which ought to be the consideration of every statesman was this, that emancipation was just as natural an event in the history o f a country as justice was in the history of an individual. What tkis country ought to provide for was, to make such a timely separation of the Colonies of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, from the mother country, as that they would not fall separately to the United States, and thus raise a confe deracy of three, to counterbalance the overgrown strength which the United States would obtain if these Colonies were driven by force to unite themselves with them.—( Hear, hear.) He, therefore, hoped that in the measure which was under the consideration of her Majesty's Government, and which was to be proposed to that House, measures would be taken that would conduce to an amicable separation at no very distant period, and to erect them into an indepeadant confederacy, calculated to balance the enormous power of the United States. This was a consideration well worthy of the states men of a great country like the parent, looking forward as that statesmen ought to do, to the separation. He begged now to call the attention of the House to that which was laid down as the necessary condition of preserving Canada as a colony to the mother country. That which the Colonists had above all things put in the foremost rank was, their desire that the government of the Colonies should be made responsible. They asked in Upper Canada, what was the ground of dis missing the three gentlemen of the popular party that Sir Francis Head proposed to call into his council. The three gentlemen of the popular party desired either that they might be responsible Ministers, or if they were not to be responsible Ministers, that the Legislature might understand that it was not they who shared the responsibility with the Government, but that it was the Governor himself who was responsible for all his measures. What did they find in the Report of the Commissioners on the affairs of Canada? Why, they stated;that it was inconsistent with the protection of the unity of a colony with a parent Government to make the Members of the for g s o h o e d ir G ae o t v s er t u o m th e a ut p w op a u s la to r ma ke the popular y amenable to the Executive t n h c a i l t the responsible e c u ri Assembly Council. Looking at the great population of the Colony, its Executive s,gm b iy, b C u o t u d •of separation from the mother country come when the desire great strength and rapid increase, he would say that the period co untry would be so stron g that it would bo impossible mush maintain it. It was the business of a wise state in such circums tances to take tills by the forelock, and lead thou longer to from a sta te of rebellion to a state of tranqui llit y and g ood order. He hoped such w o uld be the measures the p resent Government. would have to propose whenever the Constitution em Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and their other Colonies, of these Colo nies was to be finally settled. Let that Constitu tionbrace and thus lay the foundation of t he g reat confedera tioito ie which he bad already alluded. G. CAYL E Y felt bound to awar d t o her Ma jesty's for the Government his full degree of praise and admiration, not only Sir confedera tion r line of conduct they had laid down for the present emergency, but for that which had characterised their colonial administration since their assumption of office. He main tained that t he Canadas had no ri g ht whatever to com p lain o s of neglect, for that all their grievances had been remedied 828 and that any which had since sprung up were under up to 1 , the consideration of tho Government, and would, no doubt, in time have met with redress. The French Canadians assumed to themselves far more importance than they really possessed ; and though in point of numbers they were in a majority, they were greatly behind the English in re spect to wealth and stake in the country. Notwith standing what had been said in the speeches at the Crown and Anchor, he did not believe that the people of Canada, as a body, were favourable to the views of Papineau. It was evident that the object of the leaders of Papineau's party in the Legislative Assembly was not the redress of grievances, but a separation from this country. The real grievance to them was the rapid increase of British emi grants. lie perfectly agreed with the Honourable Member for Bridport that, if it were a time for separation, the separa tion should be effected in such a manner as to secure to this country all the benefits of a friendly intercourse with the Canadians. But if they looked at the population of the Canada!, and saw bow many British were there settled, it appeared to him to be impossible to say that it was a fit time for separation. Ile trusted that, if the Bill moved for by the Noble Lord were carried into effect, means might be found of uniting our North American provinces, and combining the Canadas, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick into a federal Government. Mr. GILL ON was glad to find that the subject had been treated as all such subjects ought to be treated, without asperity. He could not agree to one of the rea sons assigned for deferring the redress of the grievances of the Canadians, namely, that we had been compelled to defer our measures of reform and improvement at home. Nor could he concur in the eulogium which had been pro nounced on our colonial system, which had always been one of corruption and jobbing. The grievances of the Canadian people had been frequently acknowledged, but they had never been redressed. He certainly regretted the course which certain individuals in Canada had pursued ; but if a dismemberment of the empire were to be the result, it ought to be attributed to the coercive resolutions which were agreed to by the House last spring. It must be acknowledged that the long-protracted refusal to redress their grievances was some excuse for the irritation which the Canadians had felt and expressed. Nor could he see what confidence they could repose in future promises when past promises to them had been so grossly violated. He had always entertained a high respect for the Noble Lord who was about to go out to administer the affairs of Canada. That Noble Lord's name had always been quoted as that of a steady advocate of the rights of the people, and was a rallying point for the friends of Reform. But, trammelled as the Noble Lord would be by the circum- stance of carrying with him a Bill for the suspension of the Canadian Constitution, he (Mr. Gillon) was apprehensive that the Noble Lord might not find it very easy to carry into effect the objects of his mission. He was happy to hear the Noble Lord on the Treasury Bench speak, as he had last night done, of the wisdom of abstaining from severity, and of taking the road of clemency and conciliation. Among the religious portions of the community in this country there existed a deep feeling to the same effect. Mr. BORT HWIC K, although he admitted that her Ma jesty's Government had not saictioned the rebellion in Lower Canada, maintained that if they had taken proper measures they might hare prevented it. Nor could he look at the ques tion of the insurrection of Canada as an isolated one. To him it appeared to be intimately coniected with occurrences nearer home. To show that there was a community of feel- ing between the insurgents in Canada and other persons in this country, he need only refer to the language which had been used at the meeting at the Crown and Anchor—a meet ing at which the lion. Member for Kilkenny, a Member of that House, and claiming to be loyal, had presided. That language was of the most inflammatory description. One of the speakers had exclaimed, " In freedom let Canadians live, And brave the death that tyrants give." A Gallant Colonel, once a Member of that House, had talked at the same meeting of the justification which was to be found for the Canadians in that page of our history which related something that had once taken place in the neighbourhood of Whitehall, the sight of which consequently gave to every Sovereign who saw it a crick in the neck. Why, what con struction but one could the law officers of the Crown put upon such expressions? Yet such treasonable expressions, evidently involving a threat against her Majesty the Queen of England, were unchecked by the Honourable Gentleman who was in the chair on the occasion he alluded to (and who by his silence gave then his sanction), and were left unno ticed and unpunished by her Majesty's ministers, and the law advisers of the Crown ! Were they living in times of such se curity that such sentiments as these could be tolerated with impunity ? An Honourable Member had adverted to the state of Ireland, and having said that if Mr. O'Connell were no longer the agitator of that country, a dozen O'Connells would start up to supply his place, observed that if Papineau were to cease to exist, a number of persons of his principles would be found to take up his principles. Now, why was this said, if it were not felt that there was a very strong analogy between the cases of Canada and Ireland, and between the conduct of Mr. O'Connell, and that of Mr. Papineau? He thought that the Government "had themselves to thank for the existing state of things in Canada, not on account of the resolutions of last year, but because they had given an encouragement to the malcontents in the colony, which enabled them to attain such a bead as at last to bid defiance to the power and authority of the parent state. Amicable separation had been spoken of. There were two objections to such a course : first, because this was not a time for amicable separation ; second, because it would be unwise in England to allow herself to be bearded by a colony, and to proclaim on the face of Europe and the world that to obtain a separation from the parent state it was only necessary for a province to demand it at the cannon's mouth. He should vote in favour of the proposition for bringing in a Bill to suspend the Consti tution of Canada until effectual measures had been taken to bring the insurgents into a state of subjection. Had the Right Hon. Baronet the Member for Tamworth remained in office the present crisis would never have arrived. But let the Ministry now beware that the spirit of rebellion was not confined to Canada, but had extended to districts nearerhome. Let them beware that it had developed itself in language which could not be mistaken in the neighbourhood of London. If the Hon. and Gallant Officer (Colonel Thompson) to whom he had previously referred, really used the language attributed to him in the report, then he (Mr. Borthwick) said that the law officers of the Crown had been guilty of aid ing and abetting high treason in not taking notice of it. He (Mr. Borthwick) cared not what consequences might ensue to himself for the use of these words. In the presence of the House, of the country, and of God, be declared that he be lieved they were so guilty. He stated that opinion firmly and fearlessly. If the Gallant Officer did not use the words attributed to him, then the newspapers, in giving publicity to such language were liable to the same charge, and then it became the duty of the law officers of the Crown to bring the editors of those newspapers to trial for high treason. Mr. D. BROWN would not follow the histrionic speech of the Honourable Member, nor would he argue the judici ousness of sending either the Honourable Member for Kil kenny or Colonel Thompson to the Tower; nor would he in stitute a comparison between the Honourable Member for Dublin and Mr. Papineau. He though indeed that there was an essential difference between them, one advocating a phy sical and the other a moral agitation, but he would try to ad here to the subject-matter of debate. He rose with reluctance to address the House, and should not have done so, only fearing, as the Irish Members had taken little part in the de bates regarding Canada, that it might be supposed they were apathetic respecting the interests of that colony, and did not sympathise in the sufferings of its people. The simple cir cumstance of being an Irishman was a sufficient excuse, as on account of a sad association in misfortune Ireland and Canada had been placed in a companionship. Similar, if not identi cal, grievances, harassed and humbled them together. They knelt together before the same bar of British justice , they had been dismissed together with contumely and insult ; and now, when they appeared again to seek their just rights, though not in the same companionship of humility, though not in the same attitude of prayer—lreland in that of sup plication, Canada in armour—it must lee excusable in even the humblest representative of the Irish people to express his sentiments in a debate which so deeply involved the fortunes of those who were fellow-sufferers with his countrymen, and to take an interest in the struggle, in which their rulers might be taught a lesson which wisdom learned from experience might induce them to apply to his country. He hoped the Hon. Member for Dublin would denounce the resolutions as contrary to the great principle of civil and religious liberty which he had ever advocated, and that the Hon. Member for Tipperary would prove upon this occasion that his estimate of justice was not measured by local prejudices and party antipa thies, and that he did not wish that it should be limited to the boundaries of Ireland alone. The case of the two countries was nearly identical : in both there was a " monopolising miserable minority," and in both a powerful party in that House ready to pander to their wishes.—( Cries of " Hear, hear.") Canada was in a worse position, for while Ireland had only to contend with Honourable Gentlemen opposite, Canada had opposed to it the powerful force produced by the unnatural alliance of those Tories who were the avowed enemies, and those Whigs who were the avowed cham pions of Reform. He always regarded an union between Whigs and Tories with much distrust, for then he appre hended some powerful resistance to the wishes of the people, if not some violent encroachment on public liberty.—( Hear.) He considered the conduct of her Majesty's Government with respect to Canada, was unwise, unconstitutional, and timid withal. It was unwise, because contrary to the opinions of all great statesmen : it endeavoured to govern a colony on the principle of coercion. It was obviously unconstitutional, because the resolutions of the Noble Lord invaded the Con stitution of 1791 ; and it was timid, because, while it had po pularity for its aim and oppression for its end, it had not the firmness of purpose to pursue the one or enforce the other. What the people of England must consider in this war, for war it would be if the sense of wrong continued, however the present efforts might be crushed, was this :—first, if it were a just war; next, it being just, if it were likely to be attended with success ; and lastly, if successful, if it were likely to confer on England a benefit commensurate with the blood and trea sure it would cost ?—( Hear, hear.) To ascertain if it were a just war they must define what principles should direct the mother country in her guardianship of the co lonies, for that was the proper term to express the rela tionship between them. For his part, he thought they should extend to the colony that liberal policy which would enable it as soon as possible to maintain its independence, and we should govern it with that grace which would induce it, when free, to seek a friendly intercourse with the parent State. When they did separate—for separate they must in the course of time, to repeat the opinion of the Noble Lo r d th e Mem ber for North Lancashire—let it not be by a sudden convul sion, dangerous and degrading to either the one or the other, but let it be by mutual arragement, which would promote the interest and honour of both. Sir James Mackintosh had stated " That a colony should have permission to conduct the whole of its internal affairs, compelling them to pay all the reasonable expenses of their Government, and giving them at the same time a perfect control over the expenditure of the money ;" and he further said, that "in the government of the colonies nothing is lost in yielding to the wishes of the people when expressed by their representatives." 11Ir. Fox said, "With regard to foreign colonies, he was of opinion that the power of the Crown ought to be kept low ; it was impossible to fore see what would be the state of a distant colony at a distant time. But in giving them a Constitution, it was our duty as well as our interest to give them as much liberty as we could —to render them happy, flourishing, and as little dependent as possible; indeed, he thought the more despotic the Consti tution we gave a colony, the more we made it the interest of that colony to get rid of our Constitution ; and it was evi dent the American States had revolted, because they did not consider themselves sufficiently free." And in another place he said, applying himself immediately to Canada, that " he conceived the only mean, of retaining a distant Colony with advantage was to enable it to govern itself." Now, he (Mr Browne.) would ask, did not the resolutions of the Neble Lord invade those principles of Colonial Legislation ? Far from extending to Canada a more liberal policy than was extended to the British people, did not her Majesty's Government, in thrusting their hands into the public chest, do what they dared not do in England ? Bring the matter home—suppose the Executive could last year have paid itself, what would have been the consequence ? They would have had a Tory Administration ; the King was avowedly a Tory, and he would have called the Tories to his Councils ; but they were not sufficiently disinterested to obey the call, as the people would not pay them.—( Cheers. ) Had the present Govern ment, in refusing to grant to the people an Elective Legis lative Council, acted in accordance with the opinions of Sir J. Mackintosh and those other Statesmen who told them to re- ceive their principles of Government from the recommenda tion of the people ? They deviated from those opinions, and proved that no good arose from doing so. Their only argu• ment was an obstinate adhesion to the Constitution, not be- cause it was a good, but because it was the old Constitu tion.—( Hear, hear, hear.) The Noble Lord opposite had said, " How ill the Legislative Council had discharged their office they might judge from the papers before them ; the Members of the Council on every occasion had enrolled themselves on the side of Government against the wishes of the people ; they stood as an impotent screen oetween the Go vernment and the people—they neither repelled the people on the one hand, nor the Government on the other. But while they enabled the one to keep up a war against the other, they were the means of a continued system of jarring and conten tion. This council was the worst of all the evils which had taken place in the Administration here for the last fifteen years." That was the opinion of the Noble Lord who now so warmly advocated the continuance of that Council, and the usurpations of the Executive.—( Hear, hear.) The only bens fit that could be derived from oppression was the moral instruc tion which it brought to posterity ; for, as success must even tually attend the right, such acts of oppression, as procuring the triumph of liberty, while they held out a bright example to the people, taught at the same time a striking lessen to impro vident monarchs and a reckless aristocracy ; and when they viewed them through the vista of the past, and with the eye of memory, they stood as islands rising above the proper level of justice on which history had erected beacon lights to guide the giddy vessel of the state.—(Cheers.) He did not wish defeat to attend the arms of his Sovereign. He wished victory to crown them when directed against the natural enemies of the state and the Sovereignty of England.—(Cheers.) Mr. BROTHE RT ON wished justice to be done, but de precated a resort to arms. A State ought to ponder long and seriously before it involved itself in war. He felt now, as he had done in the case of Ireland, great difficulty and embarrass ment in voting for the suspension of the Constitution of Canada. He approved highly of the appointment of Lord Durham, but thought that that nobleman ought to be sent out untrammelled by a coercive Bill. Mr. LUCAS rose in consequence of the appeal which had been made by the Hon. Member for Mayo (Mr. D. Brown) to the Irish Members. That Hon. Member has endeavoured to draw a parallel between the cases of Ireland and Canada. He (Mr. Lucas) thought the only point of connection between them was this : that for the last only years the tide of emigra tion from Ireland to Canada had been encouraged by every successive Government, and that a large amount of Mali po pulation had, in consequence, settled in the transatlantic pro vince. This part of the Canadian population was industrious, loyal, and ardently attached to the British Government as long as the British Government would support them.—. (Hear, hear.) For their sake, therefore—for the sake of that large and valuable body of his countrymen, he (Mr. Lucas), when appealed to by the lion. Member for Mayo, must be al lowed to raise his voice and to protest against the relinquish.. ment of the colony.—( Hear, hear. ) Major M ACNAM AR A entirely coincided in the opinion stated by the Hon. Gentleman who had just sat down. Mr. CLAY could not abstain from expressing the great pleasure he had felt at the able and eloquent speech of the Hon. Member for Bridport (Mr. Warburton), in many of the calm and temperate suggestions of which he fully coincided. There were, however, some points upon which he could not agree with the Hon. Member. Tae Hon. Member for Brid. port, although he did not defend the insurgents in Canada, evinced a disposition to palliate their conduct. Now he (Mr. Clay) thought that the insurrection in the Province was ut terly without justification, excuse, or palliation.—( Cheers.) Many of the grievances of whch the French Canadians complained had been redressed, and all things appeared to be going on in a fair course before the revolt. It was per fectly clear that the Canadians never wanted able advocates in the Imperial Parliament ; and it was equally clear that, by making use of those weapons only which a free and re presentative Constitution had placed in their hands, they might have obtained redress of all the grievances of which they complained. They had no right to avail themselves of the power of stopping the supplies, and force on an organic change of the Constitution of 1791, which must be held to be, in its essential qualities, in the nature of a compact between that colony and the parent state. There was no parallel or fair analogy between the power which they had exerted in stopping the supplies, and that power which could be wielded by the Imperial Parliament. It appeared to him that in the conduct of the insurrection there never was a bad cause less ennobled either by wisdom in council or bold ness in action. The leaders of the insurrection had not manifested any of those qualities that were calculated to make them fitting leaders of a great and independent nation.— ( Hear.) The Hon. Gentleman then adverted to the conduct of Lord Gosford, and observed that if that Noble Lord had made any mistake in his conduct, it had been a mistake on the right side. He might have been too slow, but if he had erred it had been a noble error, and one which would meet with ap proval from the representatives of a free people. With re gard to the plan proposed by the Noble Lord (Lord John Russell), it had his entire concurrence. It appeared to him to be the only course which could be taken with any prospect of success; and he believed its adoption would tend to pro mote the peace and happiness of the Colonists.—( Question, question I) Mr. JAMES expressed his great satisfaction at the appoint ment at the Earl of Durham on the mission upon which he was shortly to proceed. He felt persuaded that if any man could settle the unfortunate differences that now existed be tween the provinces of Canada and the mother country, that Noble Lord, from his sound judgment and great talents, would succeed in that most desirable object. He fully concurred in the Ministerial proposition. The question would no doubt have assumed a totally different shape if the whole of the North American provinces had been, like the great majority of Lower Canada, desirous of a separation ; but when he found that New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Upper Canada, were all anxious to retain their connection with this country, that was a suffi cient reason with hire to oppose emancipating any of the Ame rican provinces from their present allegiance to the British Sovereign.—( Hear, hear, and cries of " Question.") Sir HUSSEY VIVIAN addressed the House in vindicate tion of the conduct pursued by Colonel Wetherell and the British troops in Lower Canada, and repelled the charges made against that gallant officer, and justified the steps taken to repress the revolt in that colony. In answer to the allega tion that the British troops had burned the houses of the Ca nadians, together with their inmates, he begged to say that there was no statement of any such circumstance having taken place throughout the whole of the papers which had been laid before Parliament.—( Hear, hear.) It was true that a barn was destroyed by fire by the soldiers ; but up to the present moment it did not appear that a single individual was in the barn at the time. When this question was discussed on a for. mer occasion, he was sorry to hear it held forth as as argu ment for giving up the Canadian Colonies, that, by possie. bility, the British soldiers would be induced, by improper mo tives, to quit their colours, and that they would look to the spoliation of the British settlers in Canada as an advantage that would compensate them for deserting their country. He ( Sir Hussey Vivian) should like to know when the time was that British soldiers were influenced by such base motives ? ( Cheers.) It was perfectly well known that in the army in. Canada great desertion took place. The habits and facilities afforded by the proximity of the United States, and the advan tages which were held out to the troops, led to that desertion, He knew that during the time he was in Ireland, the depots there had to send out twice the number of troops ever , / year to the Canadas that they had to any other part of the ritish dominions. But what was the fact now ? Why, that of late years the troops had not deserted ; and he would venture to say that when the troops should be called upon to do their duty to their country, so far from desertion, every man would be found to stand firm and hold fast by those colours to which he was pledged equally by his honour and his oath.— (Cheers.) The Hon. Member for Kilkenny had said that no preparations were made by the Colonial Government to anticipate and prevent the revolt, and that the people were driven to insurrection. Now, he (Sir Hussey Vivian) would not trouble the House by going through the various des. patches that were before them, but he would, without quoting the passages, declare that they most satisfactorily proved that. every preparation was made that the circumstances of the: colony required. The Hon. Member for Kilkenny (said Sir Hussey Vivian) has constantly stated in this House that k e had foretold the revolt that had taken place in the Caawaian provinces. Now I beg to assure the Hon. Member that I know no man who had a greater right to foretel it tnan the Honourable Gentleman himself.—(Loud criea of I recollect the letters of the Hon. Member._( Hear, hear, hear.) I recollect also the speeches of the Honourable Member.—( Hear, hear.) Why, Sir, we all know perfectly well the story of a person whose name was Martin, who fore told that York Cathedral would be burnt, and that he then went and set it on fire—(Loud laughter)—and I really can not help thinking that the Honourable Member has himself greatly contributed to fulfil his own prophecy.—( Hear, near. The lion. and Gallant Officer then adverted to the policy pursued by Lord Gosford, and contended that that Noble Lord had proceeded on the principle of reconciliation as far as it was possible. Looking from the beginning to the end of these dispatches it would be seen that Lord Gosford's in. structions were to do everything that he possibly could to render justice to the Canadians, and to conciliate the feelings. of the people of that country. He believed that the present disturbed state of those provinces was entirely owing tot s ess melancholy existence of a strong party in that country init . :lice to the connection with England ; but he hoped and trusted that the feelings of the people generally were in favour of continuing that connection. Ile would not now refe r to the question of the emancipation of the coloaieee. The day might probably come when emancipation might be necessary. But he should be sorry to see a great nation like this give up its colonies because a party in those colonies chose to revolt. But it was said that the present was a question of justice towards the colonists. He admitted that it was so; and he would ask the Hon. Member for Kilkenny whether lies thought that Lower Canada was now in a fit state to be eman cipated—whether, in justice to the British settlers there and those who inhabited Upper Canada, it was possibl e to grant emancipation and prevent a civil Naar from takin g place ? THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY, JANUARY lB, 183 a I